Matt Martin: Ziner and Photographer

From zines to photography exhibits to legit publishing projects, Zinester and Brighton, U.K. resident, Matt Martin is all about getting it done the DIY way.

by Ben Pobjoy

When did The Photocopy Club begin?

It started at the end of 2011 with the plan to do six exhibitions between Brighton and London in 2012.

How many exhibitions have you done?

In total, I’ve done 13 photocopy club exhibitions between 2012 and November 2013.

How many photographers from how many countries have participated?

We get any where between 150 to 250 photographers submitting to each exhibition, so way over 1,000.

How many prints have been sent in?

We get between one and five submissions from each photographer.

What kind of press has it earned?

We were really lucky early on to gain a lot of press, Dazed, Vice, Huck, Wonderland, Grazia, Time Out London and more. When we did our exhibition in Hong Kong I think it was in every Hong Kong newspaper as well as featured in Milk HK and Time Out HK.

How old are you?

I’m 26.

Where do you live?

I live in Brighton, England.

How did you get into photography?

I really got into it after dropping out of media studies at collage to do a photography course. I did a week course and fell in love, then went on to do two years at collage before going to work at a photo lab. Like most kids from that time I photographed my mates, bands, graffiti and skateboarding.

Are you behind B RAD Magazine? If so, can you tell me about it?

B RAD is my new home for all the projects I’m doing in 2014. It’s a magazine, a publisher, a gallery, a curator, an artist, a workshop, a travelling zine stall and everything else that I want to do. My three main things are me as a photographer, B RAD and the photocopy club.

What are you up to photographically?

I’ve just put out a new zine from my travels to Hong Kong and I’m working on new portrait work. Now that I’ll be a full-time freelancer I hope to be able to get back to shooting a lot more. I’ve been working for a commercial studio for two years and I felt it was time to go it alone and be my own boss. I hope this will set the path for a lot more personal work.

Any notable clients?

Huck magazine have been really supportive over the last year. And all the galleries I’ve worked with, Protein, Beach, 71A, Doomed, the woowhho space and the Jerwood.

Working on any cool projects?

B RAD is going to be taking over next year. You’re going to hear and see a lot of great things. I’m working on the first issue of B RAD in Print and have a great line-up of artists that I’ll be showing at the B RAD Gallery in Brighton.

Working on any zines? How many do you have under your belt?

I’ve put out about 14 personal zines since 2008/9. Publishing-wise I’ve just finished a brand new zine, Twenty Thirteen, with photographer Eleanor Hardwick and I’m working to a new project with Sam Hiscox and illustrator Rachel Levit from NYC.

Music’s also a big part of your life. Want to talk about it?

I’ve played in punk bands since I was 17. Punk music is my life and always will be. But I love U.K. hip hop, rock and roll and Garage. DIY OR DIE.